You got paid but now you are not able to get your cash in hand! PayPal and Moneybookers/Skrill (MBS) can offer you a linked account and these "payment gateways" are paramount as this link will allow money to be withdrawn from a local ATM in your city or town. Most of these links are backed by Master Card, Visa or by American Express.

When opening a PayPal or MBS account, they ask you to "verify" those accounts with a debit or credit card as well as a local or international bank. In either case we can do it without a problem in almost any country.

The most common link used by the translators’ circuit is a card linked to a virtual account located in the USA. The company’s name is Payoneer and it has established itself as the most direct and flexible tool so far. Opening an account with this company is simple and fast. Enter the Payoneer site, fill out the forms and send your documents as required. In three or four weeks the Payoneer card will arrive at your home. It is easier to obtain if you are invited by a member or associated with one of the companies that appear on their list.

Before you receive your card, and if the US payment tool is available, you can immediately link that account (new bank account) to your PayPal or MBS accounts, just follow the steps in each case. Do not link your card immediately after receipt to any of those accounts! If it bounces PayPal and MBS will automatically pass that card into a system that in PayPal lingo is called "Stop Fraud", which is nothing more than a security measure. If the card is rejected once, then it is hard to be accepted in the future, so you should make sure you have minimal funds. Load your card but remember, the first time Payoneer will take the annual fee for the card and for the US virtual account, US$29 to US$39 the first and about US$20 for the second. Enter the site to see Payoneer costs charged in each country.

PayPal and MBS will send two small deposits that can be seen online on your Payoneer account site statement after 48 hours, sometimes faster. With this tool you can make and receive payments and have liquid capital when needed. You may also have an account in US dollars, use the Master Card to make payment almost anywhere MC is accepted or pay a fee (US$2.50 + local bank fees) to withdraw money at any ATM.

Having a verified PayPal or MBS account allows you to increase your limits, participate on other sites who require verification, get a tax ID number or EIN, NCAGE, DUNS number, use other ACH means for electronic transfers, have a virtual checking account on US soil and you may also make direct charges via PayPal or MBS using accepted credit or debit cards. At this point you can invest, save or make purchases outside your country.

Other tools for Europe, Asia and Middle East are Okpay which is a card similar to Payoneer, (to use it with PayPal must register in Ok-change), Mopay (over the phone payments) and several others.
The reality of collecting payment for your work is very important and the more tools you have to prevent fraud the better. If you still having problems, try a micro deposit for “unsafe” customers as a valid tool to make sure everything is correct.

We will talk in more detail about everything you need to know concerning collecting payment for or selling your work, transferring your earnings to a local account and defending it from fraud among other things. If you have a question or a topic of interest just ring the bell.

Until then.